New Delhi, August 26: As Pakistan’s Taliban finally accepted that their top commander Baitullah Mehsud was dead, they have decided to avenge his death and declared that the US President, Barack Obama, was their enemy number one.
Deciding to move on, the Taliban have even selected a new leader, Hakimullah Mehsud. The new head made his intention clear by vowing to avenge the death of Baitullah, who was killed in a US Drone attack.
Islamabad, August 26:Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh will visit Pakistan later this week to promote his controversial book on Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Online news agency reported.
Although Singh’s visit to Pakistan has not yet been made public, he may arrive here Friday, the report said.
The former Indian external affairs minister was expelled from the BJP last week for praising Jinnah in his book “Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence”, abruptly ending his three-decade-long membership with the party.
Islamabad, August 26: Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) on Tuesday against Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been chargesheeted for masterminding the Mumbai carnage in a move which will make it difficult for Pakistan to let the dreaded chief of JuD roam freely.
Islamabad, August 26: Pakistani security forces killed three militants and captured seven more in search and clearance operations in Swat and other parts of the restive Malakand division, the military said today.
Eleven local residents who were forced to join “terrorist training” by the Taliban voluntarily surrendered to the security forces near Chuprial, the military said in a statement.
Islamabad, August 25: Reports about the appointment of a new chief of the Tehrike-e-Taliban Pakistan to replace Baitullah Mehsud are “speculation” as rebel commanders are still fighting among themselves on the issue, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday.
“If (commander) Hakeemullah Mehsud has become the chief terrorist then he should come forward and say that he has become the chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Malik told state-run television.
Islamabad, August 25: Facebook may have become a hit in Pakistan with over seven lakh people registering with the social networking website, but not everyone’s happy with the portal’s growing popularity.
A college student whose mother decided to add to the Facebook count is decidedly unhappy.
“My mom recently started using Facebook and ever since she has made her account I have discovered privacy settings I never knew Facebook had!” a 20-year-old wrote of her experiences after her mother decided to keep a tab on her.
Rawalpindi, August 25: A UN team probing the murder of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visited the hospital where she was rushed after the fatal attack on her life in December 2007 to collect details about her wounds and treatment, the Online agency reported.
The UN officials interacted with the staff of the Benazir Shaheed Hospital for more than two hours, the report said.
The team also visited the operation theater, the treatment room and the site where the doctors formally announced her death.
The team earlier visited the site where she was attacked Dec 27, 2007.
Islamabad, August 25: Former Pakistani President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is likely to reach Dubai from London within next few days to consult his close aides on his political ambitions.
According to sources, the former President has summoned his close political aides to Dubai. Musharraf held a meeting in London with a group of his supporters and discussed his future political ambitions as his two years ban on political activities will expire in November, The News today said.
Islamabad, August 25: A staggering 2,686 people were killed in 1,367 incidents of terrorism in Pakistan in 2008-09, while property worth Rs.2,686 million ($32 million) was destroyed, a report released Monday said.
Almost a third of the incidents – 544 – had occurred in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), where the Pakistani security forces are currently conducting a major anti-Taliban offensive, said the report, covering a one-year period from mid-2008.
Almost half the casualties – 1,285 – had occurred in the NWFP alone, where property worth Rs.1,285 million was destroyed.
Istanbul, August 25: Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi arrived here Monday to attend the ministerial meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP), the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
Pakistani Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said Monday that Pakistan is trying to engage the private sector of FoDP countries to participate more in Pakistani investment and trade activities, said the report.
Rawalpindi, August 25: A UN team probing the murder of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto Monday visited the hospital where she was rushed after the fatal attack on her life in December 2007 to collect details about her wounds and treatment, the Online agency reported.
The UN officials interacted with the staff of the Benazir Shaheed Hospital for more than two hours, the report said.
The team also visited the operation theater, the treatment room and the site where the doctors formally announced her death.
Islamabad, August 24: The Taliban today rejected Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s claim that they had killed commander Baitullah Mehsud’s father-in-law and his kin on charges of espionage, while acknowledging they were in the militants’ custody.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan deputy chief Maulvi Faqir Muhammad said Mehsud’s father-in-law Malik Ikramuddin and three of his relatives are in the custody of the militants but they have not been killed.
Islamabad, August 24: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said government forces foiled last month a planned terrorist attack on parliament and buildings of the intelligence agency and other federal institutions.
”Pakistan’s parliament building was one target of a planned attack,”he said.
Giving details of the plan in an interview with CNN, he said three men with suicide vests had been arrested over the past four weeks.
He did not say when and where the suspects had been nabbed.
Karachi August 24: Pakistani police have arrested seven members of a feared Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group accused of plotting suicide attacks in the nation’s economic hub Karachi, a police official said Monday.
“We have arrested seven men and recovered three explosive-filled jackets and detonators,” senior Karachi police official Saud Mirza told AFP, adding that a large quantity of explosives had also been seized in the Sunday raid.
Makeen(Pakistan), August 24: Pakistani Taliban fighters are committed to helping the fight in Afghanistan and consider Barack Obama their “No. 1 enemy,” a top commander said amid uncertainty about whether a new leader has been appointed to head the movement.
Waliur Rehman made the remarks in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press at a time of intense speculation over the next leader of the al-Qaida-allied group. A CIA missile strike on Aug. 5 is believed to have killed former chief Baitullah Mehsud. Rehman, a cousin of Baitullah, is seen as a strong candidate for the post.
Lahore, August 24: As the Opposition PML-N targeted Yousuf Raza Gilani for “letting the dictator off the hook,” the Pakistani Prime Minister on Sunday acknowledged there were differences between the PPP and the Nawaz Sharif-led party on the issue of trying former president Pervez Musharraf for treason.
“Nothing has been decided as yet… The matter of Musharraf’s trial under Article 6 of the Constitution (for treason) has not ended yet,” Gilani told reporters while visiting the residence of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali.
Islamabad, August 24: Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday the security forces will continue their offensives against the Taliban during the holy month of Ramadan, the Online news agency reported.
“We are not interested in a ceasefire,” Malik said. “They haven’t kept their commitment in the past. We will continue targeted actions against the Taliban.”
The Taliban had announced that it will stop fighting during Ramadan, which began on Saturday and is traditionally considered a time of peace.
Islamabad, August 24: Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Sunday the security forces will continue their offensives against the Taliban during the holy month of Ramadan, the Online news agency reported.
“We are not interested in a ceasefire,” Malik said. “They haven’t kept their commitment in the past. We will continue targeted actions against the Taliban.”
The Taliban had announced that it will stop fighting during Ramadan, which began Saturday and is traditionally considered a time of peace.
Islamabad, August 23: The commander named by members of the Pakistani Taliban as its new leader is said to be as ruthless as his predecessor, taking credit for several attacks, and could order more in the coming weeks to prove the terror network is still in business.
Despite the naming of Hakimullah Mehsud to replace ex-chief Baitullah Mehsud, who is believed to have been killed in a CIA missile strike on 5 August, questions remained as to whether the al-Qaida-allied group was united behind their new leader.
Islamabad, August 23: Unidentified gunmen shot dead two intelligence officers in the northwestern Pakistani city of Nowshera, police said today. The armed men fired indiscriminately at Military Intelligence officer Aftab Alam and Naik Ameer Hamza in front of their homes in a military residential colony in Nowshera cantonment, they said.
Both personnel died instantly. Despite strict security arrangements within the military colony, the gunmen escaped from the spot in a car.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack
—PTI–
Peshawar, August 23: At least two people have been killed and three others wounded in a car bomb explosion in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Police say the bomb was planted in a car belonging to a militant spokesman and was detonated by a remote control.
Identifying the victims as Mubeen Afridi, spokesman for militant group Ansar-ul-Islam (AI) and his driver, Peshawar police chief Sifwatullah Ghayyur blamed rival group Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) for the bombing on a busy road in Hayatabad region on Saturday night.
Islamabad, August 23: The militant commander named by the Pakistani Taliban as its new leader is as ruthless as his predecessor, taking credit for several bloody attacks
He could order more in the coming weeks to prove the terror network is still a force to be reckoned with.
While the appointment of 28-year-old Hakimullah Mehsud suggests the Taliban is regrouping after the reported killing of its ex-chief Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA missile strike Aug. 5, questions remain as to whether it will be able to unite around him, an analyst says.
London, August 23: After its success in defeating the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan Army has agreed to train Pakistani military in tackling insurgency and offered the same to India.
The Sri Lankan Army’s new commander, Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya told the BBC that Pakistan had already asked if it could send its military cadets to train in counter-insurgency operations.
“We’ll give a favourable response,” Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya said of the request.
Hangzhou, August 23: Visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has urged Chinese entrepreneurs to set up business ventures in that country in a bid to boost foreign investment.
Zardari made the call during his visit to Hangzhou, capital of China’s Zhejiang Province, on Saturday.
With the gradual recovery of its economy, Pakistan is making efforts to explore new international markets and remove barriers for investment and trade so as to attract more foreign investment, Zardari told reporters in Hangzhou.
Lahore, August 23: Fourteen terror suspects, believed to be members of banned militant groups planning to carry out attacks in the eastern Punjab province, were arrested by Pakistani authorities and explosives and ‘jehadi’ literature seized from them.
The suspects, including two Afghan nationals, were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies from Jhang, Layyah, Chichawatni and Bhakkar areas, sources said last night.